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Scotch Egg

Introduction & method

Scotch eggs are the perfect snack, or served as part of a picnic or light lunch. A boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat and deep-fried. Posh London grocers Fortnum and Mason invented scotch eggs in 1738.

 Scotch Egg Recipe

Cook the eggs


Your eggs should be at room temperature, and if you leave them lying on their sides for a few hours before starting, that will help to centre the yolks. Place the eggs in a small saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring the water to the boil, then turn it down to a simmer. Leave it for 4-5 minutes for a runny/jammy yolk, or 8 minutes for a firmly set yolk. As soon as the time is up, remove the eggs and put them into a bowl of iced water - this stops the eggs from cooking any further, and prevents the formation of that greenish-grey ring around the yolk. Leave the eggs in the cold water for 10 minutes and then peel them.

Prepare the sausage meat


If you are using meat from shop-bought sausages, just remove it from the skins. You want 100-120g (3-4 ounces) for each egg. If you are making your own sausage meat, mix the seasoning and the minced pork pork together and work it well until you get quite a smooth texture.

Divide the meat into 4 balls and put them in the fridge.

Assemble the eggs


Sprinkle some flour on your worktop and roll out a quarter of the sausage meat into a disc that's big enough to enclose the egg. Roll an egg in flour, then place it into the centre of the disc. Carefully fold the edge of the meat over the egg, and then rub the edges together until you cannot see the joins. You may find a little bit of cold water makes this easier. Coat the meat all over with beaten egg, and then roll it in the breadcrumbs until it is evenly coated. Repeat the egg and breadcrumb coating to give it a nice crispy crunch.

Cook it


Use a deep-fat frier or a saucepan with oil in it. You only need enough oil to just cover the eggs. Heat the oil to 170° Celsius (336° Fahrenheit) and carefully lower your eggs in. Keep them moving to stop them sinking to the bottom and scorching. After about five minutes, the breadcrumbs will be golden and the Scotch egg should be cooked. You can check with a thermometer if you like, the meat needs to be at least 63° Celsius (145° Fahrenheit). Remove the eggs and let them rest for at least five minutes before eating them. They are good hot or cold.


The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Scotch Egg on YouTube.

 
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Ingredients & Info


EGGS
 450 grams sausage meat or minced pork
 4 medium eggs
COATING
 1 egg, beaten
 1 tbsp plain white flour
 4 tbsp breadcrumbs
 2-3 tsp seasoning mix (see below)

PLUS

Seasoning mix: half a tsp salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp dried sage, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 chicken stock cube, crushed.

You will also need oil for frying. 


UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

Makes 4 
Prep time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 20 minutes.
Total time: 30 minutes.